The Halloween Kids (TV series)
The Halloween Kids is a Canadian-American TV series that aired from 2000-2002 on KidsWB! in the US and YTV in Canada. It was produced by Gecko Productions, in association with Nelvana Limited and Warner Bros. Animation. The series lasted for two seasons and ended due to monetary issues. Plot The show is set in the fictional Belbury Village. Belbury is home to relatively weird individuals and monsters, and is said to have been founded by social outcasts and freaks as their own sanctuary. The "weird ones" and the "norms" live in harmony, but often go separately depending on certain circumstances. Belbury is set in a fictionalized state, referred to as New England. New England is set right above Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine and boarders New Brunswick. In general, the series focuses on The Halloween Kids, a group of children who live in Belbury and investigate supernatural occurrences, experimentations and myths, intervening when necessary. They are unknowingly spied upon by the Elites, an illuminati-esque group proceeded over by the most influential students at Belbury Middle School. The school itself is home to a wide array of bizarre children, allowing the Halloween Kids leverage in carrying out their plan of the day and just be themselves. In season 2, Strange added in new aspects to increase viewer participation. Fans were able to send fan letters and questions to Strange via his website or through the mail at a temporary address and would be read and answered at the end of each episode, with the sender receiving credit. Strange also encouraged viewers to send in designs for background characters that would appear in new episodes. Characters The Halloween Kids The Halloween Kids are a gang of children encompassing multiple personalities and means of handling situations. When conceiving the characters, Strange claimed that the usage of a large main cast was done to focus on a family dynamic, where all development effects the group who put aside their hierarchal differences for the good of their home town. Their biggest connection is that fact that all were born in October, and are descendants of supernatural beings that laid the groundwork for Woodrot's foundation. While they had no recollection of their original upbringing, they felt the need to remain together and solve all supernatural issues in their town. They were virtually unchanged from their book counterpart. *'Alison Meeks (Mae Whitman):' The leader of the Halloween Kids, hailing from Darien, Connecticut. Alison is a spunky talkative girl and the leader of the Halloween Kids. She is knowledgeable on everything obscure or irrelevant to what's currently happening, with a varying payoff. Since she was the first to discover the club's first monster, she had leeway in becoming their leader. Alison also tends to be somewhat moody and is a bit short-tempered. She wears shades frequently, done to cover her disfigured set of eyes which she believed was caused by a rare eye disorder, but it was caused by a pact her family made with the Headless Inspectre to preserve their lives, leading to disfigurement on their next born child as a permanent reminder to never invoke his wrath. *'Colleen Dixon (Melissa Fahn):' Colleen is Alison's best friend. Like Alison, Colleen was originally from America, hailing from Denver, Colorado. Colleen is a somewhat shy girl who takes on a deadpan persona when she's forced to interact with others. She often gives sarcastic one-liners whenever the situation demands it. Colleen stuck with Alison because the latter understood her better and is helping build her self-esteem. Both she and Alison were considered social outcasts because of their weird behavior, as well as the other kids needing an outlet to let out their frustrations after getting tormented by the older kids but soon win their respect. Colleen has 12 siblings and lives with a single father, her mother dying as a consequence of birthing so many children within the span of a few months. *'Gaylord “Sparky” and Brighton Dobson (Peter Kelamis and David Paul Grove respectively):' Identical twin nerds. They try to rationalize everything with logic, but get turned away almost every time. Dante and Damien have a psychological hold over Sparky, since the latter maces Sparky when he gets too annoying. Brighton hates confrontation and tries to maintain peace between them and the bullies, but backs down when anyone threatens him. While highly intelligent, they have no grasp on chemical-oriented experiments, something that Liz outs them in. The other kids hardly understand Sparky, so Brighton takes on the role of translator. *'Sam Bliss (Julie Lemieux):' A girl who's into magic and planting and is also a bookworm. It's revealed that she's a witch, but she keeps it under wraps so she could make friends easier and maintain a normal life. Sam is a bit of a hippie, frequently going out into nature and tending to her own greenhouse. She is often the victim of pranks and various annoyances spurred by Julie and Devlin, but she tries not to let them get to her. *'Julie Dallow (Jenn Forgie):' A punk girl who often takes the role of a contrarian. She employs a punk-like look and used to be a prominent street rat until she got the chance to turn her life around. Julie holds a strong moral compass and sticks up for much weaker individuals, though she tends to be very sarcastic to most people. Her exterior hides the fact that she was once a weak girl who felt as though she had little to contribute to the world. Julie was the most popular character in the series. *'Jerry Sandoval (Ian James Corlett):' A somewhat cowardly boy. Next to the Dobsons, he's one of the only boys in the Halloween Kids, something he forgives since he's weak by nature. In spite of his cowardice, he has a strong love of extra terrestrials, carried down from his father. When he met Jenny, he was grateful when she became his friend and offered to protect her to build his confidence. While he is a caring boy, he only applies it to people he feels matter more than him, which are very few. *'Jenny Lipstone (Carrie Finlay):' An alien girl who was sent to Earth by her family due to miscommunication between them and their overlord. She landed in Belbury and befriended Jerry, who was the only human who wasn't afraid of her. She molds her human form after Jerry and went with a surname different to his because she developed a crush on him, something he returns to her. Because of her lack of experience on Earth, Jenny comes off as somewhat naive and may engage in acts normal to her, but too bizarre for everyone else. *'Becky Proctor (Lisa Ng):' Becky was born on a farm and is somewhat naive to city culture, but she finds her way through constant help from the Halloween Kids. She was the daughter of the founder of the Cult of Wolves and shared her father's misanthropic view of humanity until she met the Halloween Kids, whom encouraged her to give humanity a second chance. Becky kept her werewolf affliction with the intent of using it for good. Under this guise she is more headstrong and arrogant. She seems to have developed a crush on Randall. *'Emily Blythe (Britt Irvin):' A nerdy girl who was infamous for throwing her former friends under the bus to avoid scrutiny. Everyone hated her and bullied her relentlessly, but it all came to a heed after a lab accident mutated her, along with Julie. The kids, with the aid of Stephy while she herself was afflicted help her and induct her into their group. Since then, she has tried to better herself and seems to have succeeded, though she still fears she will return to old habits. Emily has a love for acting and science. In the second season, Emily changes her outfit. The Perrino Elites The Perrino Elites are a secret society, one of the most feared in Alison's school. They exist to provide a protection racket for the more dominant social groups, namely bullies (preferably bullies with higher intelligence than others), divas, jocks and those with professional connections. They would seek anyone who annoys them and punish them based on the extent of their misdeed. In the books, they were an illuminati-esque group who closely monitored the activities of the Halloween Kids, believing that they will carry on the sinister legacy of their ancestors. Alison and the leader, Francis, became friends near the end of the first season, but Francis used this to closely monitor her and her group. * Francis Perrino (Antoinette Spolar): The leader of the Elites, as well as class president, best identified by her large head sporting a bulging vein. Francis is a well-rounded yet strict leader who at first despised the Halloween Kids, unbeknownst to them, but later changed her mind after seeing they weren’t a threat to school safety and especially since Alison saved her, as well as indirectly allowing Francis to maintain her position as class president.. She would often aid the Halloween Kids, provided she shares their desire to go through with whatever’s proposed. Francis is an aspiring director and is loosely based on Louis Peraino. She's from Montgomery, Alabama. * Ashley Yorke (Amber Hood): Grew up in Henderson, Kentucky, but later moved to Connecticut due to her parents believing that the former wasn't worth living in. She tends to be cocky, especially when it comes to competitive events and is also a very hard player, but she lacks humility, especially when she's on the losing end. Ashley used to be Alison's best friend but both grew apart over the years, not helped by Ashley's competitive nature, but eventually became friends with Fiona. She suffers from arachnophobia. * Fiona Atkins (Sandy Fox): Francis' other friend. Fiona seems to lack mental stability, showing no reluctance to bring about cruel and unusual punishments to anyone who crosses Francis or any of the other elites. Also tends to act like a dog, something she does to get attention. She is revealed to be poor and lives in a trailer park. Fiona is part-Polish and originally came from Arkansas. * Ruth Dinsdale (Tara Sands): She has an affinity for producing artwork and is often tasked with drawing mugshots or making a visual reference for whomever tasks her. Ruth has a disturbing habit of rolling her eyes into the back of her head and manically cackling while drawing, something she claims cuts down on distractions. Ruth was born in Laurel, Mississippi, but was soon abandoned by her parents in Louisiana and raised by alligators, giving her bizarre facial features. Ruth is very close to Francis. *'Angela Asbrew (Alyson Court):' A bully and female foil to Dante, though she generally keeps to herself. She is cruel to her younger cousin Pamela, spurred by her uncle's favoritism toward her. Angela is an anti-authority individual, which she keeps secret to avoid causing trouble for herself. Angela ran away from her home after a fight with her parents, spurred by her temper and thick-headedness and now lives with her uncle. She's the niece of the mayor. *'Dante Ahrens (Tony Sampson):' A self-proclaimed ladies man, who frequently flirts with Julie and (later) Stephy, leading to embarrassing circumstances. He is generally hot-tempered and takes his frustrations out on his friend Damien. Dante seems to be the top coordinator for the bullies and always finds ways to justify any misdeeds he and his friends become part of. Dante's appearance seems to be modeled after Chevelle vocalist Pete Loeffler. *'Georgina Sutcliffe (Tabitha St. Germain):' The school diva. Georgina originally hailed from Yorkshire and was a sheltered, boarding school attendee from a well-off family until they lost ownership of the school. They moved to New Brunswick to start a new life and their daughter would be forced to attend public school. Georgina is a girly-girl, slightly naive due to her still-developing grip on the middle-class town and was nasty for a while, but slowly changed throughout the series. Georgina is a curious girl who isn't afraid to get dirty every now and again, and has a bizarre fondness for gross things. This helped her become friends with Jenny, who considers most gross things on Earth a delicacy, as well as Sam who's work revolves around gross things. A running gag throughout the series is that Georgina always gets hit in the head by a ball. *'Phoebe Corkery (Erin Fitzgerald):' Georgina's best friend. Her appearance and social skills conflict with Georgina's standards, but she makes up for it in being much crueler. Phoebe is a misanthropic, manipulative and sociopathic girl who has managed to get her way by any means possible, particularly to get out of whatever trouble she's in. Her disgust for the world stems from the death of one of her closest friends, one she felt she could've prevented. Beyond that, she doesn't hold contempt toward the Elites or the Halloween Kids. *'Elizabeth Kitrosser, Dolly Hellman and Suzy Yuzna (Chantal Strand, Ashley Taylor and Chiara Zanni respectively):' Part of Georgina's posse, though more often they're seen independently from her and seem to care more for their own friendship than their connection to Georgina. Elizabeth enjoys monster movies and is the president of the school's film club, and is the more intelligent of the three. She also rarely bathes. Dolly is rich and has a valley-girl dialect, constantly relying on others to get her up to speed on what's happening and is only able to chip in quips of agreement with the two. Suzy has a somewhat deep voice an affinity for fishing and brings the two with her on her father's boat so she won't be lonely, and is also very short tempered. All of their last names are taken from the directors of the final three Silent Night, Deadly Night movies. *'Randall Bench (Richard Ian Cox):' A business savvy and snobbish boy. He is cold and manipulative, harboring a strong love for money and power. He often issues punishments for those that cross the Elites in a bad way, yet he does his best to make sure they fit the crime. In spite of his greed, he is very respectful and is surprisingly not too stingy, even honoring lower-class individuals based on their work ethic. Randall has a love interest in Becky, which is explored throughout the series. *'Tiberius Kurt (Daniel DeSanto):' A jock who's part of the school's football team. He is a strategic thinker and serves as a bodyguard alongside Dante and Damien. He's a stickler for fair play and victory, but he doesn't possess the same mentality as other jocks, preferring to keep to himself and improvise when it comes to on-field procedures. *'Leland Williams (Dexter Bell):' Another member of the football team, albeit as a towel boy and equipment manager. He manages to be much smarter than the other jocks which, along with his connection to a dating hotline (his mother reportedly works as a caller there), enables him to maintain a stranglehold on the football team. Leland seems to be desperate to do as little work as possible, preferring to take shortcuts, but unlike others who feel this way he's a lot more subtle about it. It's implied that he's a nationalist who hates his own race. He's part Egyptian and lived in Bristol, Tennessee. *'Tommy Kadic (Steven Crowder):' Marie's twin brother. He is high-strung and almost always speaks in an eloquent fashion, leading to ridicule from the others. He is also very cunning and manipulative, something his social circle uses to a positive advantage. Tommy gets along very well with Marie, and both work together the most often, even making a pact that if they couldn't land their dream jobs by the time they become adults, they would get a job together. *'Marie Kadic (Sarah Gadon):' Tommy's twin sister, who has the ability to advance her strength following an unwitting banishment to the Pixel Dimension. She served as the antagonist in the first episode, but after getting freed and regaining control of her old emotions, she redeemed herself and saved the Halloween Kids from the Werewolf Cult in the second episode. She goes on to join the Perrino Elites after getting reunited with Tommy, and helps maintain that the Halloween Kids aren't a threat. Marie is a tomboy who loves video games and baseball. *'Jean Sheppard (Maria Bamford):' The self-proclaimed queen of the playground at Belbury Middle School. Jean is a ruthless leader, but people stuck with her because she proved to be more tolerable than competing ones, and is able to come up with reliable plans. The Elites previously served as a protection racket for her, but Jean became an Elite, albeit during field-work operations. *'Katie Sue Taylor (Nika Futterman):' Jean's only friend. Katie Sue is a small, weak girl who makes up for both by being fast and strong-willed. She is willing to follow Jean's orders and always follows through to the best conclusions. It's implied that she has a crush on Jean. The Raven Stakes A now retired supernatural investigation team who laid the groundwork for the foundation of Belbury. They grew apart following a devastating attack on what turned out to be innocent spirits who wanted to aid the Stakes. One of the members were sent to the Detendimension as a last-ditch effort to seal away the spirits of G.R.A.Z.. Following the destruction of their homes in Later Half, Here I Come, they take residence in Curtis' house. * Kerry Hubbard (Roger Dunn): The mayor of Woodroot, and the uncle/father of Angela and Pamela respectively. He served as an aid to the leader of the Stakes, but amidst a stagnating war, the leader lost his mind and fed info to Kerry that nurtured their breakup. The experience left him embittered and reluctant to talk about his past. He often engages in bizarre activities such as frequent campouts and making sculptures, which he disguises as symptoms from a midlife crisis. Kerry has extensive knowledge on the paranormal and could usually identify supernatural causes. * Curtis Kadic (Jonathan Potts): He's the principal at the kids' school and is the father of Tommy and Marie. Curtis is an eccentric and strict individual, but is also reasonable. His past is a mystery, though it's implied that he grew up in a rural community. He seems to have it out for the Halloween Kids but begrudgingly asks for help solving issues that usually effect him and the school. Curtis used to be part of the Raven Stakes, but blaming Kerry for the coup, he dropped out and opted to try and make a simple living for himself, which got compromised when G.R.A.Z. possessed his wife and made her leave him. He is spiteful toward his friends and is protective over his children, also feeling that he was responsible for his wife leaving him and refused to disclose that she was still alive somewhere. It takes assurance from his wife as well as the sacrifices his friends would make to help him be happy again for him to break out of his emotional slump. His house is a conversion of an old local hotel. * Lars Perrino (Andrew Kavadas): Francis' father and the current successor to the Perrino estate. He got convicted following the disbandment of the Stakes due to mounting charges from his mafia days, but got out after agreeing to a plea bargain where he would reveal the locations of still-active members of his crime family. He served his family and the Stakes and is very similar to his daughter in terms of interests and means of operating. Lars is a member of the state legislator and is a registered republican. * Tito Perrino (Danny Wells): Lars' father who held the same mentality as the Elites back during the heyday of the Stakes. He agreed to not go after any member of the Stakes since Lars was a member and would prevent them from interfering with whatever Tito had planned. In his prime, Tito was a feared man, but gradually lost his grip on the town following numerous failures. While he never did any field work, he did help fund the Stakes and bail them out when they got into trouble with the authorities, making him an honorary member as a result. A running gag exists where he's using the bathroom and is left exposed after the destruction of whatever building he's in, to which he exclaims "Your mother." * Ned Sandoval (Hiro Kanagawa, imitating Jerry Seinfeld): The brains of the team and Jerry's father. He rarely speaks unless it's to someone of an equal intellect. He has a bit of an ego problem and tends to annoy the other members just by being present in the room, so to annoy him back, they often laugh off whatever ideas he has, so long as they could salvage a plan of their own. Ned's obsessed with aliens, though he keeps it within the boundaries of his group. * Bob Hetrick (Howard Jerome): The team's brawn. For a time, he was the strongest man in Woodrot, best known for his dexterity and better resistance to pain. This was compromised when he was involved in a car accident a year after the Stakes disbanded, breaking his back and both of his ankles in the process. Years of recovery rendered him out of shape and he walks with the aid of a cane. * Boris Slaatsky (Long John Baldry): A Russian-Canadian who acted as a disguise specialist. He's an aspiring actor, which enabled him to pull off any disguise. Boris served as an aid to the leader and got sent to the Detendimension over his mounting suspicion. He never learned of the true intentions of the spirits the Stakes killed and believed the current Halloween Kids were evil, but learned the truth after the rest of the Stakes arrive in the dimension and clear everything. He is returned home and takes residence in Curtis' house. Cuda Network A gathering of teens based in Cuda, a ghost town that was destroyed by the Headless Inspectre. The teens took refuge in the last new/currently standing building in the town and treated it as a home away from home. When Stephy was inducted into the group, later becoming their leader, they became active in hunting down the paranormal. They played major roles in most of the episodes, but for the most part acted as recurring characters and comic relief. * Stephy Hicks (Kelly Sheridan): Julie's teenaged cousin. Stephy is a cool-collected individual who tries to apply rationality to everything, save for anything in the realm of what the Halloween Kids deal with since she herself was once a figure in it. She disappeared when Julie was eight, where she took part in a fake tutoring job and got turned into a chimera-like monster by her hirer, but upon meeting the Halloween Kids, they restore her to her normal form and reunite her with Julie. Stephy is into martial arts and seems to be into goth culture as well, though she could never bring herself to dress like one. She often gives the kids advice or directly aids them when she's forcibly made part of the problem. The rest of the time she just hangs out with her two best friends. In order to ensure she's more involved with the Halloween Kids when necessary, she took up a tutoring job at Belbury Middle School, something the Cudas followed her on. * Nicole Zam (Stacey DePass): A downbeat, put-down artist who's into drawing. She hardly speaks and seems to hold contempt for everyone outside of her circle. She has a tendency to criticize whatever plans the Cudas come up with, with most of what she says coming true. Few people seem willing to like her, and are often tempted to annoy her. * Britney Horvath (Rachel Wilson): Into video games and claims to be the only girl to maintain record scores on arcade games. Britney is lazy and is more content with playing video games, which lands her in guarding jobs and, ultimately, leaving her open for attack. She is shown to be able to defend herself, however, just enough to prevent the Cudas from ousting her. Britney grew up in the south. * Shane Cooper (Carly McKillip): A semi-goth/punk girl who's always dementedly calm no matter the situation. The others usually rely on her for a plan because they can't think well under pressure, and whatever she comes up with usually only works out of pure luck. In the face of anything macabre, morbid or frightening, Shane hardly gives much of a reaction. * Day Harbor (Megan Fahlenbock): Referred to as the token ethnic part of the group. She is shown to be much smarter than anyone in the group who's not Stephy. Her contributions are often undermined, but the group hardly gets much going in their favor so she sees no need to call them out on it. Day is usually the one who contacts the Halloween Kids whenever the Cudas are unable to handle certain situations. Day reportedly got into the Cudas since they imprisoned a demon within her posterior, and it often communicates with her, trying to convince her to let him out. * Caleb Walsh (Dan Petronijevic): A male counterpart to Day, though he also has a bit of an ego problem. He tries to maintain order but only for his own benefit. As a result of this people hardly listen to him and are more than eager to get rid of him. It's implied that he's part of his school's football team. * Malcom Langley (Yannick Bisson): The only other guy in the group. He's in a relationship with Shane, something that isn't mentioned but shown heavily. He is mostly self-absorbed, though he keeps this to himself. Malcolm is head-strong and defiant per any challenge, always trying to accomplish anything just to look good. He used to be the head of the group until Stephy outbid him, and he somewhat resents her for that. G.R.A.Z. Ghostly Revenge Alliance... Zoinks!. The main antagonists of the series. * Headless Inspectre (Elliot Gould): The Headless Inspectre is the ghost of Blaine Matson, a renowned health inspector from the 1950s. He was killed in 1971 by a vengeful butcher after Blaine gave him a poor review. Prior to this, he practiced heavily in black magic to ensure that he would maintain power and return to humanity in some form were anything to happen to him. Because of this, his severed head became cursed and his spirit roamed free until the Raven Stakes imprisoned it in a book, which Damien freed him from. Blaine's head was buried beneath an oak tree set on the highest point in Woodrot. To whomever reunites his head with his body, he will become their servant, only for the reverse to happen. * Sorrow (Richard Newman): Ghost of Richard Darsey, the leader of the Raven Stakes. He was the son of the butcher that killed Blaine Matson. Following his father's conviction, Richard walked the line between sanity and insanity, gradually going towards the latter after the Headless Inspectre was discovered. In a misguided attempt at saving his team from death, he tried to get them to slaughter helpless spirits as a distraction, but they saw through it and got sent to the Detendimension while trying to stop the Headless Inspectre. Richard died from cardiac arrest and succumbed to the influence of the Headless Inspectre. * Damien Gordon (Peter Oldring): Damien served as the antagonist of the first episode, where he unwittingly reactivated a transfer mechanism in an arcade cabinet while trying to get a high score. He was hated by the Elites and even the Halloween Kids, with both wasting no time in chastising him for the slightest bout of idiocy. After the first season, Damien disappears, but resurfaces in Later Days, Here I Come, where he attempts to get back in the good graces of the Halloween Kids and the Elites, only to get turned down. He discovers the head of the Headless Inspectre and the book he was imprisoned in (having stolen it from Francis who unknowingly had it) and summons him, later succumbing to the curse and getting killed due to gross incompetence. In the finale, Damien betrays the Headless Inspectre and Sorrow and usurps them of their power. With the joined efforts of the two along with the Halloween Kids (their ancestral predecessors included), the Elites, the Raven Stakes and the Cudas, they defeat Damien and imprison him in the Headless Inespectre's tome, which they burn to ensure Damien never resurfaces again. Damien is based on a character from an ill-fated adaptation of the Halloween Gang, one Strange felt was overpowered and was a creators pet. Other Prominent Charaters * Pamela Hubbard (Tracey Moore): Angela's cousin. Pamela is an optimistic and blissfully ignorant girl who goes through verbal abuse from Angela on a daily basis, though it never really affects her. Pamela is shown to be very bright and resourceful when she needs to be, and Kerry tends to favor her to Angela, which serves as a reason why Angela is so cruel to her. Pamela always forgives Angela because she knows deep down Angela respects her as a part of the family. * Devlin Costich (Matt Hill): Sam's next door. Like Sam, he also possesses supernatural powers and serves as a friendly rival to her. In terms of skill, he outmatches Sam by a fair margin and is better at keeping his powers secret from others. He tends to be annoying, especially to Sam, but he only does it if he likes someone since he lacks the courage to better express himself. * Clifford (Trevor Devall): A heavyset bully who's a bother to both the Halloween Kids and the Elites. He often serves as an antagonist whoever he plays a major role, but the rest of the time he acts as a background character. He played a major role in Turtle where he challenged Colleen to a fight and again in The Not Exactly Dead Zone where he got the plot going by breaking Alison's shades. After the first season, he stopped appearing regularly, but he joined the others in the three-part finale in entering the Detendimension and saving the Halloween Kids. * Wanda (Britney Wilson): A ghost who inhabits Belbury Middle School. Her backstory is a mystery, though rumors circulate. Wanda is generally unaffected by her current situation, preferring to remain amongst the living without any worry of harm. She often relays info to the Halloween Kids since they were the first to hold a conversation with her. * Helga (Tabitha St. Germain): An ogre who's in Ms. Chapley's class. Helga once went by Helen and used to be a very attractive and snooty girl, but after angering Sam by tormenting her for so long, Sam turned her into an ogre. Helga attributes this transformation to helping her change for the better. Without having to worry about looking good, Helga came out of her shell and became a much better person. The attributes of an ogre are present with Helga, including disgusting behavior and habits. Helga serves the Elites, relaying info and serving as a security guard, but she isn't considered a part of their team. * Violet (Gene Mack): A prominent background character. Violet is a young girl who has the voice of a black man, which immediately helped her fit in with the rest of the kids at Belbuty Middle School. She's typically used for jokes. * Hope Chapley (Patricia Drake): The kids' teacher. She is a somewhat strict figure, but holds a lax dialect when the kids argue with one another, allowing her to record them to watch later as a substitute for television. Hope has a relentless one-sided crush on Curtis, maintaining it because she feels guilty over him losing his wife years ago. * Cheryl Kadic (Cynthia Preston): Curtis' estranged wife. She is mentioned frequently in each episode but has never been seen. Details on her life were revealed throughout the series from her childhood to her adult years. As a kid, Cheryl was a tomboyish girl who loved flowers and often picked on Curtis. When she turned 20 she left to join the army but was sent out of the battlefield due to her losing her hand in combat. She took a job as a waitress at a diner and reunited with Curtis, eventually marrying him and birthing Tommy and Marie. Through the influence of the Headless Inspectre, he possessed Cheryl long enough to make Curtis angry with her by spewing hateful remarks at him and made her leave him. She was later imprisoned in the Detendimension following a year of serving as a pawn to the specter and put into a comatose-like spell. She was discovered in the finale and was brought back home. * Ms. Werzog (David Lander): The school's art teacher and auditorium director. She made the most appearances in the first season, and had very few since then. It's strongly implied that she's actually a man in disguise, and is part of the witness protection program. * Stench (Johnny Hardwick): A nationalistic slacker and drifter who's obsessed with the Sooners. He was previously a background character, but had a somewhat major role in the final three episodes where he transported the Halloween Kids and later the other characters to the cathedral to travel to the Detendimension. He takes his love of his favorite team so seriously that in the face of an opposing opinion, it devolves into a shouting match. He's last seen interacting with Coach Gunnar, where he asks about his interest in the Sooners after a period of silence. He's based on a background character from King of the Hill, and included him as a cameo after meeting his actor. Episodes *Indicates its an adaptation from one of the books. Pilots Season 1 Season 2